. >> sreenivasan: the people of the southern philippines struggled to recover today from a deadly typhoon. nearly 300 were dead, and officials warned the number could go higher. more than half the victims were in the compostela valley province. the storm made landfall there, early on tuesday. we have a report narrated by richard pallot of "independent television news." >> reporter: a mother cradles her terrified daughter, but at reist they have found shelter. so many didn't at the cost of many hundreds of lives. gustes of nearly 100 miles per hour ripping through the southern philippines, triggering landslides and floods. authorities describe how entire families were just washed away. much of the initial rescue operation was in the dark with electricity and communications cut off. entire villages waiting for the lights to see what was left and who survived, many already hearing the worst. typhoons are common here with approximately 20 striking a year, but warnings from the president about the severity of this particular storm, so many philippineoze move out in advance. the death toll in t